Offshore Company Formation, Is It For You?

By Author: adem holt
Total Articles: 26
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So, let’s start with the lead question; is offshore company formation for you?

If you have little understanding of offshore services in general it is easy to assume that it isn’t the right path for you, that is the preserve of the really rich. Well you can dump those thoughts right now as you don’t need to be squirreling away millions or even hundreds of thousands offshore to take advantage of the beneficial tax arrangements.

Nor is the process of incorporating a company offshore an expensive or confusing one. In terms of expense (dependant on company & offshore jurisdiction in question) you could be talking in the low hundreds of pounds for full service offshore company formation.

In terms of cost you can expect to find offshore jurisdictions such as Seychelles and Belize towards the bottom of each companies price lists with more premium destinations like Hong Kong and Cyprus at the higher end of the scale.

So where exactly are all of these tax havens you hear about?

Well the highest concentration are scattered throughout the Caribbean, they include Anguilla, BVI, Dominica and Nevis.

Central ...
... America is home to the tax havens of Belize and Panama.

Closer to home in Europe, a territory most will be familiar with in Gibraltar.

The Indian Ocean is home to the tiny Seychelles and in North America companies can be registered in the states of Delaware and Oregon.

The types of company incorporation will differ from haven to haven as will the cost involved which we mentioned earlier in the piece. In all havens you will receive privacy, confidentiality and freedom from all taxes. You are also likely to be surprised at just how quick the process of registering an offshore company in one of these jurisdictions is!

Now the key thing for you is to find a suitable company to aid you in the creation of your offshore company. Certain companies will have speciality locations and some won’t cater for specific locations so if you have a country in mind you may need to shop around in order to find a company who offers their services there.

A number of UK companies facilitate in this area so it is unlikely (unless you so choose) that you would have to contact anyone in these countries thus hopefully keeping you within your comfort zone an dealing with someone you will feel much more confident in trusting.

Do you research thoroughly to ensure that your provider of offshore company formation services is entirely reputable and knowledgeable.